On the Run

Let’s face it if I’m training 365 days a year twice a day, it’s not to run second or third.

– John Walker

There’s no short cut to the top.

– Arthur Lydiard

I always like to hose me legs off whether it’s a long run or a short run. I feel that this has helped me to stay injury-free ... somebody once told me they did it to race horses, so I figured if it was good enough for race horses it was good enough for me!

– Olympic marathon runner Jack Foster

Arthur Lydiard really put New Zealand on the map as far as distance running was concerned, when he trained Snell, Halberg, Magee and Baillee, and they all went on to world fame.

– New Zealand 3000 metre champion Heather Matthews (née Thompson)

I started running in 1945, and in those days you couldn't get any information much about running. Very few people were marathon training as such. And I had to learn through trail and error, and I gradually increased the mileage I was doing ... I was surprised at the endurance that I could develop progressively. I found I got stronger and stronger so that it wasn't any difficulty to go out and run very many miles weekly.

– Arthur Lydiard

Initially the climb up to the top — the ridges and that — is pretty tough, but once you’re up there it’s exhilarating: swooping up and down the hills and zapping along under six minutes a mile. Running to me in the first instance, is fun.

– Olympic marathon runner Jack Foster